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6/07/2011 @ 5:56PM982 views

Amazon Pushing Deeper into Publishers' Territory

When it debuted two years ago, Amazon’s Encore “flagship imprint” undoubtedly raised some eyebrows among traditional publishers. Truly, by creating the world’s biggest marketplace for books, Amazon had altered book retailing forever. However most publishers felt, until that point, safe from direct competition from the company.

Encore’s stated mission is to help “unearth exceptional books and amazing authors for more readers to enjoy.” AmazonEncore, in essence, cherry picks from among the hundreds of thousands of authors that self-publish via its CreateSpace service, looking for books that have gained traction and talent worth nurturing. It’s a long-tail approach to what publishers do for a living with the assistance of book agents—helping authors with editing, book design, marketing, PR and distribution. And for AmazonEncore, the sales channel extends beyond its website into physical stores by way of third party wholesalers.

Business being conducted on the exhibit floor at Book Expo America, NYC.

Most publishers have historically looked down upon self-published work, and so the Encore threat seemed minor. At Book Expo America (BEA) in New York last month, AmazonEncore had a modest-sized booth with a few of its authors doing signings, and yet its presence was sending out murmurs across the exhibit floor. In speaking (off the record) with some publishers, there appeared to be a reluctant form of tolerance for AmazonEncore.

One major publisher pointed out that retailers, including Barnes & Noble, long ago rolled out imprints of their own, although these have generally been reissues of public domain classics, not current work. One niche romance publisher expressed only mild concern about Encore, boasting its particular expertise in the genre and a loyal following for its titles cultivated by a very active company website.

But Amazon’s most recent efforts show it exploring much deeper into publishers’ territory. Since 2009, Amazon has rolled out three other imprints. The latest, announced in May, is a mystery and thriller imprint named Thomas & Mercer (after the company HQ street location in Seattle). Thomas & Mercer is recruiting name authors in the genre, such as D.M. Annechino, J.A. Konrath, Kyle Mills and John Rector.

Also released recently was news that Amazon has hired Laurence J. Kirshbaum, a literary agent and former publisher.

“Larry will be building out a publishing team in New York and will found new imprints under the Amazon Publishing umbrella, with a focus on acquiring the highest quality books in literary and commercial fiction, business and general nonfiction,” wrote Amazon executive Jeff Belle in an email to literary agents, according to The New York Times.

With Amazon’s resources, is anything standing in its way if it chooses to aggressively compete with publishers? Certainly, Amazon would prefer not to scrap its valued publisher relationships. But a key obstacle may be evident in Amazon’s new deal to sell trade paperback rights for 10 of its titles to publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. According to Publishers Weekly, Amazon has encountered friction when trying to distribute its titles to brick and mortar retailers, most of whom aren’t exactly keen about working with the company that orchestrated a retail revolution that didn’t exactly work in their favor.

“The publishing business has its head firmly planted in the 19th century,” wrote Mr. Goldberg. “Amazon has the ability to open up a stodgy business and allow more writers to reach a broad audience. If publishers don’t change, they could find their industry going the way of the music business.”

Retail industry consultant Bill Emerson sees digital distribution as the key. “Amazon’s recent announcement that, after only 4 years, over 50 percent of its book sales are now digital suggests that the game may be changing again,” he wrote on RetailWire. “The question may be whether Amazon will acquire the skill sets to do to the publishing houses what it did to Borders and Barnes & Noble. Authors strive to get their work viewed by as many eyeballs as possible. If the primary distribution becomes digital, why would authors go to publishers that are primarily paper-based?”

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